Fireworks
by Lady Star
Summary: When Serena and Darien met, it was with a bang!!! Unfortunately, not a pleasant one. Will love or hate conquer all? (S/D, of course, with all the usual pairings!)
1. Enter the Girls

I think maybe this is going to be one of my best stories ever (which wouldn't be to hard considering that I have a total of 2! And one's deleted!) Anyway, this is a Serena/Darien romance (of course!), AU, no scouts, although the girls are there. All the girls are 20, in the middle of college, all the boys are 22, just out of college, it's summer, and well, you know, summer love! BTW, they all live in England.

DISCLAIMER: Do you all know how much I despise disclaimers? Well, I do. Here's the only one for the entire fic…

(2nd) DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sailor Moon! Never have, hope to, but probably never will! And some of the plot is based loosely on a movie I saw when I was four and don't remember the name of!

~Riverside Flats- Lita's Apartment~

All the girls were sprawled out over the furniture. It was a month before summer vacation, and they were planning what they were going to do in advance.

"You guys want to go to America?" Ami asked.

"Nah."

"Been there, done that."

"How about Canada?"

"What's there to do in Canada?"

"All they have are maple trees and frozen lakes."

"That's why the 13 colonies weren't up there!"

"Spain?" Ami tried again.

"Hmm… I've always wanted to go there!" Serena said.

"I want to go to France! Paris, the city of lights, the land of love!" Mina sighed dreamily.

"I want to go to Italy!" Lita exclaimed. "I would _love_ to learn how to cook like the Italians!"

"Hey!" Raye yelled. "Look at this!" She held up a brochure. On were printed the words **GLOBE TRAVELING AGENCY** And beneath that **WE TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO- FOR LESS!! **"This company's got a contest. The grand prize winner gets to take a trip around the world for free! The two first prize winners get a tour around Europe, half of the expenses paid!"

"A tour around Europe sounds nice." Ami commented. "Just what we need. But the chances of us winning the first prize or the grand prize are _very_ slim to nothing."

"I don't care." Raye said stubbornly. "I'm sending it in, and if I don't win, too bad, and if I do win, you can all thank me, because the winner gets to take along up to five friends!"

~~~~~~~~3 weeks later~~~~~~~

Raye was on conference call with Serena, Mina, Lita, and Ami when the mail dropped through the slot in her front door. She stooped to pick it up, while tuning out Mina, who was chattering on about the latest guy she dumped. One letter caught her eye. **GLOBE TRAVELING AGENCY**. Eyes wide, she opened the letter. Quickly, she scanned it, and then screamed.

"What?!?"

"Raye, what's wrong?!?"

"Are you okay?!?"

"Raye!?!"

Her friends voices jostled through the phone.

"Oh my GOD! Remember the travel agency's contest?!? I won first place!"

"WOW!"

"Seriously?"

"Amazing!"

"You're taking us along, right?"

"Duh!" Raye exclaimed. "Of course I'm taking you along! Now, get over here so we can discuss the trip! We leave in a week!"

OK, I know this chapter puts a lot of emphasis on Raye, but she's not the star of the show! I chose her because she's the one who believes in luck and spirits and that sort of stuff. As I said before, the story revolves around Serena and Darien! But of course, there _is_ romance between the girls (Ami, Lita, Mina, and Raye) and the guys (Greg, Ken, Andrew, and Chad)! Keep reading and don't forget to review!


	2. Enter the Guys

~Northwest Park- Soccer Field~

"Break!" The ref called.

Darien wiped his forehead. This was the last college football (soccer to us Americans!) game of the season. Just a month before the end of school, and whoever won this game, won national championships. He headed over to where his team was on the bench.

"Man, that Stratford College is tough!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Yeah, but Alsen College is tougher, right, guys?" Darien yelled.

"Yeah!" All the guys agreed.

"Look at those clouds. I heard there was supposed to be a thunderstorm today right about now." Greg commented, looking up at the thunderhead that was building up in the north. "Looks like it's going to be one of our northern gales."

"Hopefully, the game will be over by then." Darien said, chugging a bottle of water. "If not, I'm prepared to play in a thunderstorm!"

Chad snorted. "You can play any sport in any weather, Dare! Football, cricket, rugby, track, American football, heck, you've even raced an airplane! It's us _normal_ guys I'm worried about. Unlike you, we wouldn't be able to survive being struck by lightning."

"Ya know, I've never been struck by lightning."

"Whatever. I just want to finish this game soon. I _do not_ want to play in the mud ever again."

Just then lightning forked down from the sky. A few seconds later, a huge thunderclap sounded.

"Aaah!"

"_CHAD!_" Chad had jumped into Greg's arms.

"WHAT! I was scared, ok? Sorry! Oomph! Hey! You didn't have to drop me!" Chad stood up and dusted himself off.

"Break over!" The ref called.

"C'mon guys, lets go out there!" Darien shouted, confident he would lead his team to victory.

~~~~~~~1 Hour Later~~~~~~~

"They were tough." Chad said as the guys walked back home in the rain. They were _way_ too dirty to use their cars.

"We were better." Darien said.

"Yeah, and when we get all this mud off of us, our skin will be lily soft, if all that crap about mud making your skin soft is true!" Andrew commented.

"Hey Andrew, with all that mud you've got covering your butt, I'll bet your it'll will be as soft as pudding tomorrow! You'll sure get all the girls then, won't you?" Greg teased.

Andrew growled as he grabbed Greg in a headlock. They both slipped in the mud and tumbled t the ground, Greg still pinned under Andrew's arm. In the meantime, they all had arrived at the apartment building they all lived in, and Darien was checking the mail.

"Hey guys! Look, look! Andrew, let go of Greg and get over here!" Darien shouted excitedly.

"What is it?" Greg asked, getting up and massaging his neck.

"Remember that contest I entered for the trip around the world? Well, I won!" Darien did a victory dance in the mud puddles.

"Let me see that!" Andrew snatched the letter out of Darien's hand. "Ha! You only won first place!"

"Whatever. We get a tour around Europe!"

"I'm not so sure I want to." Greg said.

"Me either." Said Ken.

"How can you not want to come?" Darien asked.

"Dare, let's wait until we get inside and get cleaned up." Andrew said as he headed up the stairs.

"Fine." Darien sighed.

~Pemberly Flats- Darien's Apartment~

"C'mon, Greg, it'll be fun!"

"No."

"You know you need to get out more. You even wouldn't know the meaning of fun if you hadn't practically memorized the dictionary!"

"No."

"You know you want to…"

"No."

"I know you want to, too…"

"No."

"We both know you want to…"

"Fine."

"I give up! Andrew, you try to- _what _did you say?"

"Fine."

"YES! Alright!"

"Shut up, I'm studying."

"Aww, you study too much. Ok, that's three down and two to go. Oh, Kenny!"

"Don't call me that."

"Are you coming?"

"No."

"I won't call you Kenny if you come!"

"Fine."

"So you're coming, right?"

"Yep."

"Alright, that's four down and one to go. Chad?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, I wanna go."

"ALRIGHT! That's it, we're set! Europe, here we come!"

"SHUT UP, DARIEN!"


	3. Heads Up!

YES! I got five reviews! Thank you to:

star0704

Alyson Grant- I've been wracking (isn't that a weird word?) my head, but I just can't think of it! You try remembering the name of a movie you saw when you were four!

Anjel

Sorceress Usagi

and Silver Lady!

lady_star23@hotmail.com

LOOK! It's an email address! Actually, it's mine! I swear, If you email me, I will email you back! K, I'll quit being pathetic and let you read the story!

~Serena's house~

**__**

BEEP BEEP!

"Alright already, I'm coming. Hold your horses." Serena muttered as she headed towards the door. "Bye Mom, going out with the girls!"

"Be careful, honey!"

"Sure, Mom!"

**__**

BEEEEEP!

"_Can't you guys wait one freakin moment?" _She bellowed as she yanked open the door.

"Sure we can Sere, but we can't wait _one freakin hour_!" Raye yelled back.

"Would you guys just chill? C'mon, we're going shopping, lighten up a little!" Mina chirped.

"Ya know, I'd like to, but-"

"Just can it, Raye." Lita called back from the driver's seat as Serena slid in the car.

"Where's Ames?" Serena said, glancing around.

"She said she'll met us there. OK, here we go!"

All the girls squealed as the car shot out of the driveway.

~At the mall~

"Ooh, look at that! Isn't it just gorgeous?" 

"Now Mina, we're here to shop for our trip, not just browse." Amy reminded the blonde.

"Oh, you ruin all my fun!"

"_Heads up_!" a voice yelled.

Serena looked up just before a football came in contact with her stomach.

"Ooof!" she grunted as she doubled over. Then she looked up, fire in her eyes. "OK, whoever did that _will pay_!"

"She recovers quickly." Amy commented to Lita.

"Uh- huh. I feel sorry for those poor boys." She said, pointing to a group of five boys a bit older then they were.

"Why?"

"Because the one with the dark hair is the one that threw the ball."

"How could you tell?"

"Other then the fact that I saw him throw it, he's the one that's laughing the hardest."

Apparently Serena had figured that out too. She took one step forward, aimed, and threw.

It hit him in the, well, you know, a man's specific spot and his giggles of mirth turned into groans of pain.

"C'mon girls, let's go." Serena turned away. The other girls followed without saying anything- they were are laughing too hard.

Let's see… who could that poor guy be? Hahaha, I'm evil. Don't worry, Darien gets revenge in the next chapter.


	4. On the Train...

~Day of the Trip~

~Serena's House~

"Shit, I'm late! I'm going to miss the train! Maaaa, why didn't you wake me up?" Serena called down the stairs as she dashed around getting ready. She took a shower in 3 minutes, got ready in 4, and was down two flights of stairs in 30 seconds. She almost felt like she was in high school again.

"Watch your language! And I already woke you up six times!" Ilene yelled as the blonde tornado swept through the kitchen. 

"Ohmigod! Where are my bags?" Serena said as she searched frantically for them.

"You put them in your car already, darling, along with your tickets. Now, Serena honey, won't you have something to eat? I made you cinnamon rolls!" Ilene called as her daughter headed out the door with some toast in her mouth. 

"Notime,sosorry,gottago,seeyouinafewweeksBYE!" The tornado called.

Serena jumped in her car and squealed out of the driveway. Ilene sighed. Sometimes she wished they lived closer to the college so Serena could stay at home instead of boarding in a dorm and coming home during vacations. This wasn't one of those times.

~Darien's Apartment~

"Where are those damn tickets!" Darien cried as he threw piles of clothes all over his bedroom. Sometimes he wished he didn't live like such a slob. His friends had already left a quarter of an hour ago. "Oh, good, here they are! God, look at the time, I'm gonna be late!"

He ran out the door, jumped in his car, and sped to the train station.

~On the Train~

"Where the hell is she?" Raye asked, exasperated. "The train's about to leave! I swear, that girl-"

"Raye…" Amy warned. "Remember, in with the good air, out with the bad, in with the good air, out with the bad."

"Okay, okay, I'm calm! Sheesh… you people…"

"Hey, this beauty magazine says cucumbers really don't do anything for your eyes!" Mina exclaimed. "And you shouldn't wash your hair every day!"

"Really? I wash my hair every other day. But why shouldn't you wash your hair every day?" Lita inquired.

"This says it has something to do with letting your natural hair oil set in your hair-" Mina was interrupted by the compartment door opening. 

"I swear, there are no empty compartments on this train." The speaker's back was to the girls. He turned around. "Oh! Oops! Sorry, we didn't know any one was here! I'll just be leaving now…"

"Oh, that's okay!" Mina said quickly. "You can come sit in here with us. We have enough room."

"Oh, thanks." The guys said. He turned around. "Hey guys, in here!"

He walked in and set his stuff up on the overhead rack. Three other guys followed him in. "Thanks a lot. We've been up and down this train and there are no empty cars."

"Oh, you're welcome. I'm Mina, this is Lita, that's Ami, and that's Raye." Mina said, pointing to each girl in turn. "There's one more of us, but she's not here yet."

"Well, I'm Andrew, this is Ken, Greg, and Chad." 

"Where are you guys going?" Raye asked.

"Um, we've won a trip around Europe."

"Really? Us too! What company?"

"Globe."

"Us too! So I guess we're going to be doing the exact same stuff!"

~Train Station~

"Excuse me, but has train 625 left yet?" 

The stationmaster smiled as he looked down at the girl. "You're in luck. It's going to leave in about two minutes."

"Thank you." Serena picked up her bag and dashed away.

As she got to the platform, she saw the train was already chugging away. ' I guess that guy's watch is slow. I'm about to miss my train!' "Wait!" she called as she desperately ran to catch it.

Darien looked around him. He had just gotten on the train and was in the last car. It was completely empty, with no seats, or even luggage. 'I guess my friends are sitting up front.' He walked over to the door leading to the car before this one and pushed. Nothing happened. 'Door must be stuck.' He thought as he shoved against it with his shoulder. Then he heard a voice calling, "Wait!" He opened the door and stuck his head out the window. A girl, a gorgeous one at that, was running beside the train. He pasted on his 'sexy' grin, ran his hand through his hair, and offered his hand to her. "Grab on!"

Serena didn't hesitate a second. She put on a burst of speed, grabbed onto the hand and swung herself up into the last car a second before the train pulled away from the platform completely. In doing so, her small carry-on bag split a little, causing something to drop. She didn't notice as she panted for breath. "Thank you." She said, not really looking at the guy who had helped her. 

"No prob." Darien said as he leaned down and grabbed the object that had fallen out. 'What's this? Hmmm… OH! Oops!' He blushed, looking at the thing he was holding.

"Um, excuse me miss…"

Serena turned around. The guy who had helped her on looked familiar. "What?" 

Darien stared at her for a second. He'd seen that face before. Suddenly, it clicked. 'That's the girl who thew the football at me! Oooh, revenge is sweet!' He smirked dangerously. 

"Is this you bra?" He asked, dangling it before her eyes.

Serena turned bright red as she snatched it from him and stuffed it in her bag. Her eyes never left his face. She knew she had seen him before. Her mouth dropped open when she realized who he was. 'That's the guy who threw the football at me! The _nerve_ of him!'

Darien smiled smugly as he shut her mouth. "Be careful, you're starting to look like a fish gasping for air."

Serena colored even more as she grabbed his hand (that was still holding her mouth shut) and twisted it. Darien gave a miniscule wince. "Don't _ever_ touch me." She warned him. "And if you know what's good for you, stay out of my way." She stormed to the door and pulled it open. She let it slam behind her as she left.

And I'd like to thank:

mairz87

candi

SilverRunningWater89

ab8484@yahoo.com

and Silver Lady

for reviewing.


	5. Still on the Train...

Yes! I got five reviews! Thank you to:

Mairz87

B. Bunny

Silver Lady

sugargurl

hannagrace

BTW, Sorry if I get the names of towns and other things wrong, but I'm not European, I live in the U.S. I will do my best, though, to get the accurate names of towns and cities.

Serena stormed up the train, until she found the compartment her friends were in. She stepped, no, stomped, inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Hey Sere, what happened to you? You look like you're about to have a cow. I think your face is turning purple." Raye remarked. "You really should calm down. Your face purple is even worse than it normally looks. Oh, and, by the way, you're late."

"Shut UP, Raye, I don't need this right now. I just had the worst day possible! Oh, I could just scream!" She dumped all her bags on a seat. "I woke up late, didn't eat barely any breakfast, almost missed the train, and I met the most infuriating man on Earth!" Serena was so busy ranting she didn't hear the door slide open behind her (A/N: We all know where this is going…). "Sure, he may _look_ like a god, but looks aren't everything!" Serena threw her hands up in the air and pretended to mimic him. "'Oh, excuse me, miss, but, _is this your BRA_?'" She imitated a deep voice. 

"I swear, he's the most arrogant, stuck- up, self- centered, conceited, vain, presumptuous, pretentious, stuffy, selfish, imperious, overbearing, insolent, haughty, egotistical, narcissistic-" Serena was cut off by a voice behind her.

"Wow, you've sure learned a lot from a five minute meeting."

Serena turned around to meet the icy eyes of the person she least wanted to see.

"I guess dumb blondes aren't as dumb as they're cracked up to be. Nonetheless, pretty big words for such a small, _little_, girl." Sarcasm dripped from his every word.

Serena took a step toward him. "I may be smaller than you," she said in a low and chilling voice, "But I know how to make people die _long_ and _slow_ deaths." 

Involuntarily, Darien took a step back.

The tension between the two was thick enough that you could cut it with a knife. Mina jumped up before any more death threats could be issued.

"Hello, boys! Serena, meet Andrew, Greg, Ken, and Chad! We were talking to them earlier and they went to go find their friend, who is you, right?" Mina said brightly, turning to Darien. He nodded. "What would your name be?" She prompted.

"D-Darien." He stuttered, caught off guard by the girl's brightness.

"Darien, hi! I'm Mina, this one's Raye, that's Lita, bookworm over there is Ami, and I guess you and Serena have met before!" pointing to each girl and ending with a nervous giggle.

Darien glanced at each girl in turn and when his gaze settled on Serena, he pasted on a fake smile and muttered only loud enough for her to hear, "We certainly have, haven't we, my sweet?"

She glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm not your sweet _anything_, so don't you dare think you can take liberty of calling me that."

He raised his eyebrows as if to say, _oh really!_, but Serena pointedly ignored him as she turned to Mina. "Mina, did you forget something outside?" She almost growled.

"No, Sere, I'm pretty sure I didn't." She blanched at the look on Serena's face. "D-d-did I?" Serena could be awful scary sometimes.

"Yes, Mina, I'm pretty sure you left something outside, let's go see if we can find it." Serena grabbed Mina's arm and began to drag her out of the car.

Darien smiled. Did she think he was dumb? He knew what she was doing. She probably was going to go and tell Mina about what a creepy jerk he was. He faked Mina's cheerfulness as he called out to the departing two girls, "Ooh, ooh, can I come too?"

Serena whirled around and glared at him as she snapped out a firm, "No!"

Serena dragged Mina through four cars before they finally found an empty one. She pulled Mina in and shut the door behind them. "What the hell do you think you're doing, talking to that asshole!" She practically yelled at poor Mina.

"Geez, Serena, you don't have to yell. I was just being nice." Mina whispered, cowering in a corner. "His friend, Andrew, is pretty nice, I thought Dare would be nice too."

"Dare! Oh, so your up to nicknames with that- that- that CREEP! Look, he doesn't _deserve _being nice to. He's a jerk, a complete jerk!" Serena roared.

"If-if-if-if-if y-y-you s-say so." Mina was almost shaking.

Serena softened at the sight of her poor friend. "I'm sorry, Mina. You know how worked up I get sometimes. People like him just- they just frost my cookies!"

Mina would have laughed if Serena's face hadn't been so mad- looking.

"And Darien's just so _arrogant_! I've only met him twice and I can already tell he thinks he owns the world. He thinks everyone and anyone should bow down to him and obey his slightest whim. Well, _I'm not a bug he can squash under his feet_!" Serena was heating up fast. Mina realized she had to calm her down soon or else all hell would break lose.

"Serena! Calm down! You know you're better than him! And you know you've got all us girls backing you up. No matter how much I like Andrew (here she sighed) I'd leave him in a minute if you wanted me to! Remember our motto: One for all and all for one! We're the Princess Court, and we can crush whoever we want to!"

"Thank you, Mina. Now, let's go back and show that Dar- those boys what we're made of!" Serena semi- blushed at her slip.

Mina smiled knowingly as she took Serena arm and walked back to their car, Mina chatting lightly all the while.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Darien stared out the window. Everyone else was busy doing something. Ami and Greg were talking animatedly about nothing in particular (A/N: Hey, how come whenever Ami and Greg get together, everyone makes them talk about physics?), Lita and Ken were discussing something, Lita wildly gesturing while Ken dodged so he wouldn't get hit. Raye and Chad were talking… well, at least Chad was talking while Raye kept trying to swat him away like a fly, and Mina and Andrew were alternating between talking and smiling at each other. Darien could see the instant attraction all his friends felt for the girls. He sighed. Would he ever meet someone and _boom!_ have no idea what hit him?

Serena was curled up in a corner, reading a book. Darien's eyes lingered a bit on her, before he sighed again and returned to staring out the window, watching pastures and lakes and hills pass. _God, I hope we get there soon_ was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep.

Serena felt eyes on her and glanced up at the sleeping Darien, smiling slightly. _He's so cute_ she thought, before she realized exactly whom it was that she was talking about and the smile dropped off her face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Portsmouth Station, five minutes!" the conductor rapped on their door and called sharply.

Everyone jumped up and gathered their things. In a few minutes time, the train slid into Portsmouth and dropped of the group. 

OK, people, I'm leaving it off here, because I have to research up a little for part b, and I want to get this chapter out ASAP. Please review!

~Lady Star


	6. And We're Lost...

Thanks to all you people who reviewed! -

SilverRunningWater89,

mairz87 (great idea! I was thinking the same thing! But, unfortunately, can't do it because it wouldn't be "proper";),

Sorceress Usagi,

Hitomi (thanks! Yeah, I'm trying to build things up until a big huge moment, but I really have no clue when that will be or even what it'll be!;),

B. Bunny,

And Jo!

So sorry for the delay! But I've been revising all the chapters, and working on the (so far) 60 page day in Paris. That was going to be this chapter, but I decided it would be better as Paris's chapter and this chapter was good for chapter 6. Also, I've been vaguely planning the later chapters of this fic. Coming up in about six or seven chapters, there will be a _major_ plot twist. A sacrifice will be made (no! _not_ a human one!), hearts will be broken, but worry not! For those hearts shall be mended again. K, maybe I'm giving away too much here… I'll stop now and let you read. Just please, remember to review!

The group burst out of the train station, chattering and laughing. 

"Hey!" Mina exclaimed. "How are we going to get to the hotel?"

"Mina, didn't you read the brochure? There'll be a travel agent here that'll show us to our cars and give us info on where to visit and all that. And there our guy is now!" Serena pointed to a man holding up a sign that read 'Hino Party'.

"Well, I couldn't see them." Mina said sulkily. "The sun was in my eyes."

"Mina, the sun set five minutes ago. Hey, there's our guy." Commented Chad, pointing to a guy who was holding up a sign that read 'Shields Party'. They all walked over to the guys.

"We're the Hino party." Raye introduced, pulling out her I.D.

"And we're the Shields party." Darien said, flashing his I.D.

"From now on, we'll be traveling as one party." Ami spoke up.

One of the guys nodded and jotted it down in a notebook. "Name of the party?" He inquired.

"Rose." Serena said. Everyone looked at her. "What? It's my favorite flower!" She declared indignantly. 

"Fine." Darien said. "Rose it is."

"Umm…" One of the travel agents started. "We've run into a little problem. Not a big one, just a little one. We only have two cars."

"Well, two is enough." Ami said.

"They're both four-seaters." The agent said. "But, we also have a two-seater motorcycle."

"I call motorcycle!" Serena and Darien both said at the exact same time. They glared at each other. Before a fight could break out, Greg quickly interrupted. 

"How 'bout you both get it, and flip a coin to see who drives? That's fair."

"Fine." Serena agreed. 

Darien pulled out a coin. "Tails, I drive." He called.

"Wait a moment." Serena said. "I don't trust you. Let me see that coin." She pulled it out of Darien's hand and examined it. "Ah-ha! It's a two-headed coin!" She burst out laughing. "You called tails on your own two-headed coin! Were you born stupid, or did you somehow acquire that state of intelligence?"

Darien blushed. "I didn't know I even owned a two-headed coin." He muttered.

"Idiot." She said and pulled out a coin. "This has heads and tails." She said, holding it out for him to see. He nodded. "I call heads." She said and flipped the coin. It landed on tails. "Damn it!"

"Watch your mouth, Sere." Raye called from a car. While Serena and Darien were arguing, everyone else was putting away their luggage and getting settled in the cars. Serena had no other choice but to ride with Darien, since all the car seats were taken up.

"Hmpf." She walked over to the motorcycle and got on the back. She snapped on one of the two helmets she found. Darien got on the front and grinned back at her. She growled. He laughed, snapped on his helmet, and started the bike. "Do you even know how to get there?" She screamed as the bike shot out of the parking lot.

"Watch it, you're gonna break my eardrum!" He called over his shoulder. He waved a sheet of paper in his hand. "I've got the directions from that guy right here."

Unconsciously, she held him tight. "You're doing 75 in a 60 zone." She commented, looking over his shoulder at the speedometer. He slowed to 66. She looked behind them and couldn't see the other cars. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Yeah." He said absently. "Turn right… or is that straight?" 

"You can't even read your own handwriting?" Serena asked incredulously. 'What an idiot!' She thought.

"Hmmm…" He ignored her. "I'm pretty sure that says straight."

"Well, it better, because we just passed the turn-off on the right." Serena commented. Looking up, she yelped. "Watch out!" A squirrel had darted out in front of them. Darien slammed to a stop, causing Serena to bang her head on his helmet. "Shit!"

"Ahhh!" Darien half-screamed sarcastically. "My ears! They're burning from the profanity! I'm scarred, forever stained for life!"

She rolled her eyes. "You act like you don't ever swear." He crossed his eyes at her. "Are you starting the bike, or are you gonna stay there with your eyes crossed like an idiot?" She asked him.

He turned around and gunned the engine. She screamed again at the speed. "Slow down, you speed demon!" She yelled, straining to make her voice heard over the whistle of the wind. Darien slowed down just a little. Serena looked around. She didn't see the cars behind them, and she saw no streetlights, or any signs of humanity. "Darien, STOP!" She bellowed in his ear. 

He slammed to a stop again, but this time, he was the one who unceremoniously yelled the much-used s-word. 

"Why the hell did you scream in my ear like that, woman?!?" He cried, rubbing the aforesaid ear.

"You idiot!" She screamed at him. He winced. She quieted down a little. "You've gotten us lost!"

"What!"

"Look around you, smart one! Do you see any signs of humanity?"

He looked. "There's a light… over there." He finally said, pointing to a faint glimmer in the distance. 

"Well, c'mon then, idiot, let's go!"

He started the bike yet again. But this time, instead of roaring to life, the engine just turned over. He tried again, unsuccessfully. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh, what?" Serena asked worriedly.

"Oh, nothing, other than the fact _the engine's not working_!!!" He yelled. He got off and circled around the motorbike. "I don't see anything wrong." He commented. He knelt down and fiddled with some switches. "That should do it." He turned the key again. The engine turned over again. He knelt down, disconnected some wires, reconnected them, flipped a couple of switches, and pulled a small stone out from a nook in the wires. He tried to start the motorcycle again, again without luck. "Damn. This calls for drastic measures." He opened the compartment and took out a screwdriver and prepared to take apart anything he could.

"Wait a moment." Serena said. He looked up at her. She got off the bike and walked around it. 

"What, you think you know what's wrong with it?" Darien asked jokingly. "If I couldn't figure it out, there's no way you could."

Serena didn't answer him. She was staring at one specific section. She took aim and gave it a good, hard kick. She turned the key. The engine roared to life. "You were saying?" She asked him with a smile on her face.

He opened his mouth… and closed it. He opened it again. This time she closed it for him. "Get on the back, idiot. I'm driving now."

Darien silently obeyed.

"Okay, here we go!" She tore along the road faster than he had been going. He had no breath to scream with.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Thank you again, ma'am." Serena said over her shoulder to the old lady. "We're sorry to interrupt you."

"No problem at all." The old lady said. "Mind you two don't get lost again now, hear?"

"Yes ma'am." Darien said with a smile as he got on the back of the bike. "Thanks again. Bye!"

"Good-bye!" Serena said.

"Bye now!" The old lady said as Serena sped away.

"Why aren't I driving?" Darien asked Serena.

"Because you'd only get us lost again, idiot."

"Is that my new name now?"

"Idiot? Yes. Now shut up and let me drive."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where the hell are they?" Raye fumed. "They're over an hour late!"

"You don't suppose… they got lost _on purpose_, do you?" Lita asked suggestively.

"No. No. You should have heard Sere yelling at me for being nice to Darien on the train. He's the last person she'd want to get lost on purpose with. They're probably just regularly lost." Mina commented.

Just then, Serena and Darien walked in the doors. "Sorry we're late!" Serena exclaimed. "We got lost, because idiot here couldn't read his own handwriting."

"Hey, it was dark!" Darien said indignantly.

"Humph. Well, we're here, so have you guys checked into the rooms yet?"

"No, let's go right now." Raye said, walking toward the front desk.

"Yeah, we have to get a good night's sleep." Ami added. "We've got to be up by 5:30 tomorrow to catch the boat to Cherbourg."  
"Oh, my beauty sleeeeeeeeeeeeep!" Mina wailed.

Next chapter… Serena and Darien get drunk and drift away from the ship!

~Lady Star


End file.
